Shoe



' Feb.- 15, 1938. F. P. WAGNER 2,108,631

SHOE

' Filed Aug. 50, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Feb; 15, 1938.,

F. P. WAGNER SHOE Fil ed Aug. 50, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 15,1938

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SHOE Frederick P. Wagner, St. Louis, Mo., assignor of one-half to Arthur J. Brauer, St. Louis, Mo.

Application August 30, 1935, Serial No. 38,495

' 9 Claims. (CI. 3645) This invention relates generally to shoes and to that of the ordinary blucher oxford. In particularly to an improved throat construction order to further increase the comfort of the shoe for shoes. the throat portion may be rendered yieldable in An object of the present invention generally any desired manner. stated is to provide a shoe of the oxford type in In accordance with one embodiment with the 5 which the throat construction is such as to avoid present invention the shoe may be constructed binding and biting thereat so as to improve the as is usual with blucher oxfords and be procomfort of the shoe. vided with a yieldable throat portion, but have A further object of this invention is to prothe noses of the lace stays turned inside of the vide a shoe construction in which the lace stays throat portion of the upper, instead of outside as 10 do not interfere with the yieldability of the shoe. is the usual practice. In accordance with another The more specific object of this invention is to embodiment, however, the shoe is constructed provide a shoe of the oxford type in which a along the lines of the conventional bal oxford yieldable throat portion is so related to the conconstruction but the lace stays are left free adstruction and arrangement of the lace stays that jacent the throat. If the shoe is also provided 15 the action of the yieldable throat portion is unwith a yieldable throat full advantage of the interfered with. yieldability may be taken because the connection Other objects will become apparent to those of the lace stays do not interfere. skilled in the art when the following descrip- Referring now particularly to Figures 1 to 5 intion is read in connection with the accompanyelusive of the drawings, for one illustrative em- 20 ing drawings in which: bodiment, the shoe may be provided with an ex- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a shoe emterior vamp section I having a throat region 2. bodying the features of the present invention. In accordance with the present invention the Figure 2 is a sectional view taken along line throat region 2 is made yieldable in any desired 2-2 of Figure 1 and showing the parts in exmanner. For instance the shoe may be provided 25 aggerated relation. with the construction shown and described in Figure 3 is a, plan view of the shoe shown in U. S. Patent #2,005,071, to Frederick P. Wagner, Figure 1, part being broken away to expose the or the shoe may be rendered yieldable in this relation of the parts. region by other known means as for instance by Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along line omitting any reinforcement material thereat, so 30 fll of Figure 3 the parts being shown in exagas to take advantage of the natural yieldability gerated relation. of the leather or other material from which the Figure 5 is a sectional view taken along 5-5 shoe maybe made. of Figure 3 the parts being shown in an exag- Being a shoe of the oxford type the shoe shown gerated relation. in Figure l is also provided with a pair of lace 3 Figure 6 is a plan view of another embodiment stays 3, which may be a part of the quarter secof the invention parts being broken away to show tion 4, or ay be parately formed as desired. the relations of the parts. The shoe may also be suitably lined and to that Figure 7 is a sectional view taken along the end may b provided with a doubler 5 for the 1-1 of Figure 6 and showing the parts in exagexterior va p section I a d a doubler 5B r 40 gerated relation. the lace stays 3. The shoe may also be pro- Figure 8 is a plan view of a further embodivided with a lining B which y be of y u ment. able material such as fabric or leather. In the Generally stated in accordance with the prespresent embodiment the lining 6 may be consident invention a shoe of the oxford type which er a f ric and pr vided wi h a throat linin 4.5 is provided with a yieldable throat portion may I of leather or other suitable material. The lace have its lace stays so constructed and arranged stays 3 may also be composed of an exterior secas to underlie the throatportion and hence protion 8 and a suitable lining 9 together with reduce a bal oxford effect. In accordance with inforcing st p Otherwise mcd as dethe present invention, however, the underlying sired. 50 lace stays are left disconnected or not directly In constructing the 06 in acco dance With connected to the throat section so that the stiff the present invention, after the throat portion unyieldable throat characteristic of the bal oxof the vamp i has been formed so as to provide fords is avoided. In the latter respect, thereyieldability, as for instance, in accordance with fore, the yieldability of the. shoe is comparable the d losu of Patent $52,005,071, y p 55,

viding a strip of resilient material II such as elastic in a fold I2 at the throat portion, the lace stays 3 may be assembled and connected so as to underlap the yieldable throat portion 2, as clearly shown in Figure 4. In the embodiment illustrated the lace stays are formed integrally with quarter section 4, and hence may be connected to exterior upper section I forming the vamp by lines of stitching I3 extending along beyond the end of the yieldable throat portion 2 to each side thereof. A second line of stitching I 4 may also be provided extending completely across throat portion as clearly shown in Figure 1. In accordance with this invention, however, the lace stays 3 are connected to the vamp section I only by means of lines of stitching I3, which as stated above terminate at the ends of yieldable throat section 2, so that medially of the throat the lace stays are disconnected from the exterior vamp section I. Line of stitching I4 may, however, extend through and catch throat lining I medially of the yieldable throat portion 2. This, however, leaves a sufficient yieldable area therebeyond to prevent the shoe from biting at the throat.

A suitable tongue I5 may be connected to the lining ahead of the terminus of lace stays 3 as by lines of stitching I6, or otherwise. When connected in this manner the tongue may extend back over the ends of the lace stays, and thus prevent any discomfort which might otherwise be occasioned by the abrupt ending of the lace stays. It will be understood, of course, the end of tongue I5 where it is joined to the lining by stitching I6 is suitably skived and folded to form a smooth, neat joint, not of the abrupt character shown in Figure 4, it being realized, of course, that the proportion and thickness of material as shown in Figure 4 are considerably exaggerated so as to clearly depict the relation of the parts.

As is usually the case with shoes of this type, the quarter section 4 with the lace stays 3 is arranged so as to be contiguous with the margin of vamp section I where the two are joined together, that is to say along the sides of the shoe where the quarter and vamp are joined by line of stitching I3, the quarter is interposed between the vamp and its lining 6. In view of the fact, however, that the lace stays according to the present invention are intended to underlap the throat portion of the shoe, provision is made for permitting the lace stays to pass through to the underside of the throat lining I. This may be accomplished by providing slits I! in the quarter at that portion of the ends of the lace stays 3 which will lie adjacent the ends of the yieldable throat portion 2. This permits throat lining I to pass beneath the quarter 4 outwardly beyond the slits I! but between slits I! the throat lining I passes above the exterior section 8 of lace stays 3 as clearly shown in Figure 5. In the construction thus provided the throat lining l is drawn up next to the vamp without interfering with the looseness of the lower ends of the lace stays at this point.

Referring now to Figures 6 and 7 for a further illustrative embodiment of the present invention the parts in general correspond to the arrangement of the embodiment previously described. In the present embodiment, however, the ends of lace stays 3 instead of being entirely disconnected from the exterior vamp section I in the region of yieldable throat portion 2 are connected to the lining for. the exterior vamp section I medially of the shoe, but substantially ahead or in front of the yieldable throat portion 2.

In carrying out the invention in accordance with this embodiment the line of stitching I3 is, as in the previous embodiment, terminated at the end of throat portion 2, so that the quarter or lace stays 3 is not directly connected to the exterior vamp portion I medially of yieldable throat section 2. In accordance with this embodiment, however, lining I9 for the lace stays 3 (corresponding to lining 9 in the previous embodiment) is extended forwardly for a sufiicient distance to be connected with lining 6 substantially ahead of yieldable throat portion 2. The relation of the parts is clearly shown in Figure 7. It will be understood, therefore, that lining I9 takes the place of throat lining I in the previous embodiment, but instead of continuously extending across the throat portion, as was the case with lining 1 of the previous embodiment, it will be noted that lining I9 is parted medially of the shoe as shown at 22. By thus medially parting the lining at the throat greater flexibility is achieved so that connection of the quarter and lace stay lining I9 to the vamp lining 6 ahead of the yieldable throat portion does not substantial 1y reduce the yieldability of the throat portion, and a comfortable shoe is produced.

Referring now to Figure 8 a shoe is shown in which the throat region is not provided with the particular yieldable construction illustrated in the two previous embodiments and shown and described in U. S. Patent #2,005,071. In the embodiment shown in Figure 8 the throat portion is made plain, but as shown line stitching I3 terminates as in the previous embodiment at 20 so as to leave a central region 2| at the throat which is devoid of reinforcing or stitching, and hence the leather itself is free to yield thereat, provided no reinforcing means is applied which would prevent the leather from stretching naturally. Theshoe of this embodiment may, of course, be constructed in accordance with either of the other two embodiments as far as lace stay connection is concerned, that is to say, the lace stays may be left entirely free at the medial portion of the throat or may be connected through the lining substantially ahead of the yieldable portion as desired.

As clearly shown in Figure 1 the shoe of any or all of the embodiments of the present invention may, if desired, be provided with a yieldable back or counter section 24 as shown in accordance with the disclosure of my co-pending application, Serial No. 21,073, filed May 13th, 1935, now Patent Number 2,061,746, granted Nov. 24, 1936.

Although in each of the embodiments specifically described hereinbefore a special provision has been made for rendering the upper yieldable in a region of the'throat, it is to be understood that a shoe of increased comfort over the conventional bal oxford may be obtained without such special provision for yieldability of the throat. By leaving the ends of the lace stays free for movement relative to the vamp or throat a more flexible shoe is obtained, and one which is less harsh to the foot in the region of the throat than the ordinary bal oxford. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the open bal type oxford construction herein described is not limited to use in connection with uppers having yieldable throats.

From the foregoing description it should be apparent that the invention accomplishes its objects and provides a shoe of, the oxford type in which a yieldable throat construction is provided, and the action of the yieldable throat construction is not interfered with by the construction and arrangement of the lace stays. The invention further provides a shoe which, although, unrestrained by the lace stays as the case with the usual blucher, nevertheless presents the neat appearance of the well known bal oxford. In accordance with the various embodiments this is accomplished by leaving the ends of the lace stays free of direct connection to the exterior upper in the region of the throat.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that many modifications of the shoe and process of making the same, as herein disclosed will present themselves to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of this invention. It is to be understood, therefore, that the invention is not limited to the foregoing description of illustrative embodiments, but possesses features applicable to the manufacture of shoes generally. It should be understood, therefore, that such modifications, or the use of such individual features or sub-combinations of features as do not'depart from the spirit of this invention are, although not specifically described herein, contemplated by and within the scope of the appended claims.

,Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A shoe of the oxford type comprising, an exterior upper section having a throat line, lace stays connected to the upper section, said lace stays underlapping the throat line of the upper and being free of direct connection to the throat portion of the upper.

2. A shoe of the oxford typecomprising, an exterior upper section having a throat line, lace stays connected to the upper section in regions remote from the throat line, said lace stays underlapping the throat line of the upper and being free of direct connection to the upper for a substantial distance at the throat line.

3. A shoe of the oxford type comprising, an exterior upper section having a throat line, lace stays connected to the upper in regions remote from the throat line and underlapping'the throat line, said upper and lace stays being free of direct connection adjacent the throat line.

4. A shoe of the oxford type comprising, an

exterior upper section having a throat line, lace stays underlapping the throat line and connected to the exterior upper section only at points a substantial distance from the middle of the throat line.

5. A shoe of theroxford type comprising, an exterior upper section having a throat line, a lining for said upper section, lace stays, said lace stays being connected to said lining but being free of direct connection with the exterior upper section at the throat line of the shoe.

6. A shoe of the oxford type comprising, an exterior upper section having a throat line, a lining for said upper section, lace stays, said lace stays being disconnected from the exterior upper section medially of the throat line and connected to the lining substantially ahead of the throat line.

'7. A shoe of the oxford type comprising, an

exterior upper section having a throat line, a

lining for said upper section, lace stays having an exterior section and a lining, the lower end section of said lace stays being interposed between the upper section and its lining at the ends of the throat line but underlying the lining and upper section at the median portion of the throat line, said lace stays being free of direct connection to the exterior upper section at the throat line thereof.

8. A shoe of the oxford type comprising an exterior upper section having an unreinforced throat portion, and lace stays underlapping said 

